You might be asking yourself the following question: How long does it take to grow a beard?
The simple answer is that it can be different for every man, but there are things that you can do to help the process along.
Genetics play an important role in the length and thickness of your facial hair, and the time to grow that beard can vary from two months to six years, depending on how long of a beard you are trying to grow.
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While hair typically grows a half inch per month, the wider you grow the beard the longer you can expect it to grow.
Understanding some of the characteristics of your hair might help you to better comprehend how long it will take for your beard to grow.
The Process of Growing a Beard
When you are trying to grow your beard, the hair is going to have to undergo three different phases of development or beard growth rates.
These stages are classified as the following: the anagen, the catagen, and the telogen phases.
The first phase, the anagen, is the actual growth of your beard, and depending on your individual genetics might take only a few months or possibly several years to complete. Once the hair stops growing, it enters the catagen phase and is dormant.
Now the final phase, the telogen begins when new hair tries to push the other hair out of the way as the process starts all over.
Some hairs in your beard will have different times in the anagen phase. Some fall out, some keep growing, you will not know until you get to that desired length and look at the fullness of the beard.
Determining the Length of Your Beard
If you did nothing to your beard, on average it will eventually grow to be approximately three feet in length. Again, your genes will dictate if your beard reaches three feet or gets stuck at one foot.
The way to determine how long the beard will take to grow is to watch for the shedding of the hair.
This means that you have entered the third phase of hair growth, and will be in the best position to then tell exactly how long it will take to grow the beard again in the future.
Once the growth phases are complete, the new hairs push out the old, and the process starts over.
This process will not only tell you exactly how long it will take to grow your long beard, it will show you exactly how long of a beard you can grow.
Just remember that not every hair in the beard will enter the final phase at the same time, so some hair might stop growing at a foot while others can push on to three feet or longer.
Pay closer attention to the patterns to get the best read on your individual circumstances.
Factors that Affect Your Beard Length
Every man who decides to start a beard journey almost certainly askes himself at least once about how much time it will take to grow his facial hair to a specific length.
This question is followed by another one: What steps to take and how to get there?
To find out the answers to these two questions, you first need to know which factors are involved in the whole beard growth process.
Knowing that your genes control how long does it take to grow a beard is not comforting at all but rest assured that there are other factors which determine the length of your beard.
To put it simple, let’s divide all of them into two groups. The first group are the factors that you can’t affect, and the other group are those that are entirely under your control.
Already mentioned genetics, alongside with your age and race is something that you can’t change, no matter how strong you want that. Others like your lifestyle, nutrition and beard care routine are factors that depend on you.
Understanding the Role of Genetics in Beard Growth
By now you have realized that if your grandfather and father have thick beards, the chances are that you will be able to grow a great beard too.
Based on this fact, some men will never be able to grow a full or long facial hair, and others won’t have a beard at all. Believe it or not, there is something good about that, although it may not seem like it now.
Ironically, men who are struggling to grow facial hair, are less likely to lose their head hair. Guys who can grow a beard easier experience baldness sooner.
Related article: I’m Balding, Should I Shave my Head?
Genes affect almost every aspect of your beard growth, but this can vary from man to man.
First facial hairs start growing in puberty, but it’s up to your genes to decide when your beard will begin sprouting during the puberty, and how long and strong it will become.
The pattern of your growth is also determined by genetics. This means that some men, although they have a nice beard, can experience a few patches on their facial hair here and there.
These men should just wait for their beard to get longer, and the longer hairs will eventually cover those spots where hairs don’t grow at all. If you are just starting with a beard, you can’t guess how long it will take you to reach your beard goals.
Just as everybody else, the best way to find out the time you will need to grow your facial hair is to stop shaving, throw the razor away and be patient. On average, you can expect that it will take several months for you to grow a longer, fuller beard.
A lot of men decide to start growing a beard just because they think that it needs less grooming than having to shave constantly. This is a common mistake.
Having a beard is a never-ending commitment, and the time you have been spending before on shaving, you will now have to spend in maintaining and taking care of your beard.
Although, you will agree, having a full, thick beard is worth every second of your time.
How Long It Takes to Grow a Beard as a Teenager?
Age is another factor that has a lot to do with your beard growth. Usually, the first signs of facial hair will be visible when you hit puberty, which means somewhere between 12 and 16 years.
When you get to this age, your testosterone levels will increase. With testosterone levels boosted, your vellus hairs will transform into terminal androgenic hairs.
This does not apply to every man, and late bloomers will probably have to wait a few more years to enjoy in their facial forest.
Before you rush to think that, now as a teenager, you will be able to grow longer and thicker beard than ever before, bear in mind that you must be patient for a few more years to have the beard you desire.
The best thing most men can expect when in puberty is the growth of mustache and maybe some patchy cheek areas.
Those with great genetics, however, may notice that their beard is growing faster and fuller than the facial hair of most other men.
To better understand how long it takes to grow a beard as a teenager, you should understand that hair growth pace varies depending on your age.
After puberty, somewhere between 18 and 25 years, you will notice that your beard grows quicker, fuller and thicker. This is also the age when most men have the highest testosterone levels.
Additional testosterone will make some men’s beards reach their growth potential and fill in all the patches, giving the appearance of thicker and fuller facial hair.
If this is not the case with you, don’t despair and remain patient for a few more years for your beard time to come. This is not what you’re expecting to hear at this point, but it is the only truth.
Finally, between 25 and 35 years you can expect your beard to be the thickest and to grow faster than ever before. At this age, your beard will reach its full potential.
All this may not be the same for every man, but it gives you a better idea of what to expect and the time you will need to grow facial hair based on your age.
Understanding the Importance of Race in Beard Growth
The race is the factor that will have one of the most significant impacts on the growth of your beard. It will determine whether you will start growing a beard as a teenager or as an adult man.
Caucasians usually have the thickest facial hair. On the other hand, African Americans sometimes have a lot of problems while growing their beard.
However, black men who can grow facial hair often develop full thick beards.
Asians can develop a beard, but find it the most challenging to have a full facial hair, and there are a set of reasons why this happens.
Learn to Maximize The Growth of the Beard
If you have concerns about how fast does facial hair grow, you can take some measures to actually help the hair along in the growth phases.
The first thing you should do after deciding to grow a beard is to stop shaving entirely and ditching the razor. You won’t need it for at least four weeks.
During that time, let nature take its course, and resist the urge to trim and shape your beard by that time.
Beginners usually can’t stay disciplined and start trimming their facial hair way too early. That’s when a lot of mistakes happen as they cut off more hairs than intended.
Instead, you should let your facial hair evolve through all the growth stages, but especially the anagen stage when hairs must grow interrupted.
If, by any chance, you can’t resist and shave, know that it will take you new four weeks just to grow a short beard again. That being said, after shaving your beard needs four to six weeks to grow to its previous length.
Four weeks have passed, now what? Well, the time has come that you start taking some steps to ensure that your beard will reach its full potential.
Genetics is not the only determining factor in how fast and how long that beard is going to grow.
Toxins in the body, your stress level, and the foods that you consume on a regular basis will also affect how fast your beard can grow.
Men who are smoking and want to grow a beard should definitely stop with this activity. Besides being extremely bad for your overall health, smoking unables your beard to reach its full potential.
Smoking cigarettes impacts negatively on your blood circulation. Providing that your facial hair needs the proper blood flow to grow, you can understand why smoking and full, long beard don’t go together.
Cutting on smoking will result in growing a thicker and denser beard faster.
Improving Your Diet
Changing your diet will help reduce the time it takes to grow your beard. Eating more healthy foods in place of fried foods will help the hair in the first phase to grow much stronger, allowing it to reach its full potential in less time.
If you are wondering which foods are a good starting point when growing a healthy beard, start with foods rich in vitamins, especially A, B, C, and E.
Magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium, and silica-rich foods are something you will also want to take a look at. Last but not least, there is no thick and full facial hair without proteins.
All men already know that proteins are great for muscle growth. Well, they are amazing for your beard growth too.
Limit the intake of refined sugars and combine this with a high protein, low-fat diet as this will boost the pace and rate of your facial hair growth.
To mention just a couple of foods rich in proteins that can secure you a healthier, better-looking beard: fish, chicken, eggs, salmon, steak, cheese, pork chops, tofu, milk, yogurt, and others.
Vegetables and fruits are also necessary if you want to speed up the beard growth process. Fruits that work best are apricots, apples, strawberries, bananas, peaches, kiwis, pineapples and other citrus fruits.
From vegetables, go with avocado, carrots, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, legumes, tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, and mushrooms.
Exercising on a Regular Basis
Now that you know how to increase and speed up your facial hair growth with the use of foods, it wouldn’t hurt if you back your diet by exercising regularly.
Benefits of regular work out are countless. For starters, working out increases testosterone levels. Testosterone is the primary hormone responsible for beard growth.
When this hormone is boosted by exercising, it will help the androgenic hairs on your face grow thicker and faster. Circulation of your body can also be improved if you hit the gym often. Improved circulation is also one of facial hair growth boosters.
Cutting out on stress is important when you are trying to grow a great looking beard. A lot of studies have confirmed that when you are in a state of high stress, you can experience slower hair growth or even hair loss.
Exercising will help you prevent and get rid of stress, thus leading to a faster growing, better-looking beard.
Sleeping Well
Make sure that you are getting between 7 and 8 hours of sleep each night. It is known that body’s temperature drops when we are sleeping.
Lower temperature leads to an increased blood circulation which causes faster and increased hair growth during the sleep cycle, and yes, this is true for facial hair too.
Diet, exercise, and sleep are three factors you should make sure to get right. If you don’t sleep and eat well or exercise regularly, it will lead to slower facial hair growth, and that is not your goal.
Staying Committed to the Beard Growth Process
No matter how long it takes to grow a beard, along the way, you will have to face a few problems. When you are just starting with growing a beard, your hairs will have to adapt to the new growth.
At this point, you will probably experience dryness and itching. The key thing is to endure through this stage, as it will soon pass. After all, that’s why beard oils exist, to help you survive the itch and dryness almost effortlessly.
Good beard oil will ease and stop beard itching, but also hydrate your facial hair and prevent it from drying out. You may also want to consider using beard shampoo more often, to prevent the skin underneath your beard from getting dry too.
Shaping Your Beard
After leaving your beard alone for 4 to 6 weeks, you should start sculpting and shaping it.
Although it sounds contradictory, trimming your facial hair can be beneficial to your beard’s growth. At some point, your beard may develop split ends, or it may get tangled.
Those split ends should be cut if you want to improve your facial hair growth potential and eventually grow healthier and thicker beard faster.
The shaping of your facial hair should start at the neckline. If you don’t feel confident that you can do it by yourself, head over to a professional barber the first time.
For men who decide to trim the beard by themselves, a great beard trimmer will come in handy. The first step should be defining the neckline.
Rookies often fail at this step and shave the neckline too high. To avoid making this mistake, set the neckline at two fingers above Adam’s apple.
By using a beard trimmer, remove all the stray hairs and then take a traditional, straight razor to cut the precise lines. This way you will shape the neckline without interrupting the anagen phase of facial hair growth.
Right next to the neckline are the cheek lines. The best thing to do with cheek lines is to leave them to grow naturally.
The main reason to trim the cheek lines of your beard is if they start creeping up your face and toward your eyes. Just then you are allowed to remove these strays to create a neater and better-defined cheek line.
Maximizing Beard Growth with Beard Care Products
To ensure that your facial hair is always growing at the fastest possible rate, consider using quality beard care products, such as beard oils, balms, brushes, and combs.
Beard oils and balms are known as softeners and conditioners that make facial hair softer and moisturized thanks to their ingredients.
Besides helping you overcome beard itch at the beginning of your beard growing journey, and making your facial hair softer, healthier and more manageable, these products make your beard grow faster over time.
This, of course, applies only to beard balms and oils made with natural ingredients.
Some men often think that beard care products are not necessary and that the only manly thing to do would be letting your beard grow freely and never having to take care of it.
This can’t be further from the truth. When your beard starts growing, you will experience not only itchiness but also dry skin, which will ultimately cause beard dandruff.
The best way to remove these beard flakes is by using beard oil or balm because they act as supplements and keep your facial hair nourished and moisturized.
Choose beard oil wisely, and make sure that it is made with at least one of the following ingredients: castor, argan, coconut, jojoba or hemp seed oil.
All these natural ingredients can affect how long your beard takes to grow, but castor oil and jojoba oil are particularly efficient. Almost nothing can be more useful in shortening the time needed to grow a beard than a beard comb and brush.
Brushing a beard has a lot of benefits, such as making your facial hair appear thicker and fuller. Beard brushes are also great in covering any bald spots in your beard.
Quality beard brushes are usually those that have boar bristles, and they are excellent in dealing with split ends, making hairs stronger and less prone to damaging and breakage.
If you think that cheap beard brushes will also do the job, think again. You may save a few bucks, but cheap brushes are not of good quality, and chances are they will damage your facial hair follicles.
Beard combs are mainly for styling purposes, and they don’t exactly give you the appearance of a fuller beard. However, both beard comb and brush can increase blood flow to your facial hair and stimulate your beard growth.
Usual mistake when brushing and combing your beard is overdoing it. Not even the best beard comb or brush will work if you pull the hairs aggressively.
In the worst scenario, overdoing with brushing and combing your facial hair will damage your beard, and you may even pull out some hair follicles.
Do Beard Growth Serums and Vitamins Work?
Beard growth serum like Lipogaine is an effective treatment for thin hair, giving you a fuller beard by increasing the flow of blood to the hair follicles. Consider beard oil and shampoo to also help revitalize the hair follicle.
Even though that in some cases and for some men beard growth vitamins and serums have shown the results in reducing the time that takes to grow a beard, they should be the last thing you are considering to take.
Supplements should be taken only after you’ve tried all the natural methods of growing a beard faster and only after you have consulted with your doctor.
If a healthier diet, exercising, better sleeping habits and beard care product didn’t work, maybe you should start thinking about adding beard supplements to your routine.
Even then, see what will your doctor think about this before you start taking them.
How Long It Takes to Grow a Beard with Rogaine (Minoxidil)?
Rogaine is usually the solution for men who are trying to solve the patchy beard problems. It should be applied directly to the problematic area without hairs with the use of a dropper.
Some men who have been using it have seen improvement in their beard growth. On the other hand, another group of men didn’t notice any difference before and after the use of Rogaine.
It is obvious that results can vary from man to man. However, among those who have seen success after applying Rogaine, most men claim that the results came after six months.
Just as with beard supplements, Rogaine shouldn’t be used by any means before consulting with your regular doctor first.
Back to the original question, the time needed to grow your big beard is going to be determined by your individual genes, your diet, and your overall physical health.
Improving your health in general in combination with growth pills or beard oils can help to increase the rate of speed in which your hair follicles allow the hair to grow.
Here are the answers to few simple questions we got via Social media and email.
Q: How long does hair grow in a month?
A: The average person’s hair grows a 1.25 centimeters or 0.5 inches per month.
Q: How long does hair grow in a year?
A: The average person’s hair grows a 15 centimeters or 6 inches per year.
Q: How long does it take to grow a mustache?
A: Mustache grows at the same rate as the rest of the facial hair.
Photos from: Denis Ismagilov © 123RF.com, Viorel Sima © 123RF.com, Vladimirs Poplavskis © 123RF.com, bowie15 © 123RF.com, Garetsworkshop / depositphotos.com and NatashaFedorova / depositphotos.com.
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